You might need a closer look, but this fifth generation Subaru Forester has been completely renewed from front to back.
With that, it's become a tad more spacious, but the big news is the fact that the Forester doesn't come with diesels anymore.
Diesel has fallen out of grace according to the world, and because people who buy this car consist for around 90% of private buyers,
so Subaru decided to do things differently. Diesel was always handy to reduce CO2-emissions, but now Subaru has turned to hybridisation.
That's right. Behind the 2.0-litre boxer-engine, now is a small electric motor. That means this is a mild-hybrid from now on.
Another option would've been downsizing, and that's an option Nissan has chosen. The big X-Trail still has diesels available, but the petrol-version...
is available as a compact 1.3-litre 4-cylinder engine. An engine we've already seen in Renaults and even some Mercedeses.
With that, the big Nissan is even more economical than this Subaru. Depending on trim level of course, but I'll get to that in a short bit.
The boxer-engine and electric motor drive all four wheels through the CVT-gearbox, like a proper Subaru. I myself don't particularly like a...
CVT-system, because if you only dare to look at the accelerator pedal, the engine will be sent towards the rev limiter. In this car however,
it's not that bad. Partly, that's because the electric motor packs a little extra punch. It helps out the combustion engine nicely.
It's not like it has a higher peak power output or anything, it's purely for support in lower revs. And it does so very well.
I already mentioned the four-wheel drive, which means you can easily take this car for a spin off-road. Pretty far as well.
It even has different off-road driving modes, which means the chassis is able to cope with different circumstances as well.
Having said that, the chassis is still aimed at comfort rather than dynamic driving. Of course, that's not annoying in a car like this, I mean it's...
not a sporty car, like other Subaru's from the past.
The interior then. It doesn't really strike me as a premium-interior, but that's logical. The car wasn't meant that way either.
Functionality is the most important factor here, and the controls are very intuitive. Something Subaru has done very well. Shape follows function.
If we look beyond that, the interior has become even more spacious. In the front, that means there's enough room everywhere around you.
Even if you get in the back, there's lots of legroom. I'm almost two metres tall myself, and I've got nothing to complain about back there.
Headroom is okay, but not great. I'll admit that. If we move another row backwards, we find over 500 litres of luggage space. Despite there being...
a big battery pack underneath the floor. That's very good. If that's not enough space for you, you're able to fit a tow bar.
With that, you're able to tow stuff up to 1.800 kg. A caravan, for example.
Not only does it stand its ground off-road, on the road it does very well too. It has all kinds of safety systems as standard.
It only becomes better depending on your trim level. The car can even monitor if you're falling asleep or not.
Other than that, it's able to let the brakes kick in when you're reversing and that's something we don't see a lot.
Subaru have made the new Forester an incredibly functional car.
The drivetrain in the Nissan is already known to us from other cars. Usually, the DCT wants to be a little shocky sometimes, but in here it's all good.
Everything seems alright. I don't know if that has something to do with the calibration or anything, but it's incredibly smooth.
The 1.3-litre engine reacts pretty quickly to the throttle. It produces 160 horsepower and it does so without too much effort it feels.
It's lighter than the Subaru, and maybe that's why it's a tad more enthusiastic. They've done very well at Nissan.
It's a front-wheel drive car, so no matter how tough it looks, don't go off-road with it. You'll only get stuck.
The chassis does feel more solid than the Subaru, but also a tad bouncier. Subaru was able to put more comfort in there.
The steering in the Nissan is more communicative than the steering in the Subaru though, but it doesn't make it a sports car. On the contrary.
If you look at the interior, you can tell the Nissan has been around for a while. The used materials are a tad dated and it seems that functionality was...
key in here, but that's what it's all about luckily. It's the same with the electronic support systems. The X-Trail feels dated, and it clearly lags...
behind the Subaru.
In the front, there's more than enough room and it's the same for the rear seat. It might not have as much legroom as the Subaru,
but the headroom is better in the Nissan. Also, if you need it, you can get a third seating row, so you can fit seven people in here.
The boot is more spacious than in the Subaru, but in our case there's a spare wheel underneath the floor and there's a big sound system in there.
Both of which take up a few litres.
In short, both cars are very similar. The Nissan has a more refined drivetrain whilst the Subaru offers more comfort. Also, it's a four-wheel drive car and...
it has better driving aids. However, if we look at the prices, they're very different. Prices for the Forester start at €47.000 whilst the X-Trail is...
available from €37.000. That's a price gap of €10.000, and that means the choice is made very easily. The Nissan offers more care for your money.